April 22, 2008

By Eric Detweiler The Diamondback

April 22, 2008

College Park, MD (UWIRE) -- Brian Phipps could only watch helplessly as the lone goal he allowed in Saturday's Univeristy of Maryland Terrapin men's lacrosse game against Penn floated into the back of the net.

The sophomore goalie had made a good play, coming out to snare a loose ball in traffic about six minutes into the game with the Terps holding a 2-0 lead.

But Penn attackman Corey Winkoff checked Phipps' stick, sending the ball hurtling back into the open goal.

"It was really frustrating that the one goal I let up, I scored on myself," Phipps said. "It really was my fault."

But Phipps made sure it was his lone miscue in the game.

The reigning ACC Rookie of the Year, who had only started one of the previous six halves for the Terps, took advantage of his opportunity to start against the Quakers and turned in his best performance of the year.

Phipps made a career-high 17 saves to lead the Terps to a 9-4 win against Penn. He left with just more than four minutes remaining in the game and his team holding an eight-goal lead.

"It felt pretty good," Phipps said. "I've been seeing the ball all week pretty well. It feels good having people support me and show they still have confidence in me. It gave me confidence to play well today."

After Phipps and junior Jason Carter split time almost completely evenly through the Terps' first eight games, Carter had played well enough in his last two starts to earn the nod from coach Dave Cottle in the second half, as well.

Saturday, it was Phipps' turn to dazzle his head coach.

The sophomore made 10 first-half saves, including a diving stop to keep the Quakers from tying the score in the second quarter, to secure a 4-1 halftime lead for the Terps.

"I think Brian Phipps really stood up and played a great game," Cottle said. "He was definitely the player of the game, no question."

It was the kind of performance the Terps needed. The offense had been struggling, only netting four goals in each of the last two games, both losses. That would've been enough to win this one until freshman Mark White allowed three Quaker goals in a 1:13 span late in the game.

Phipps said he was helped by the barrage of Quaker shots. Penn, which averaged 40 shots per game coming in, attempted 43 shots on Saturday. Many of the Quaker shots hit the dirt in front of Phipps and bounced over the net or skipped wide, but he said it kept him in rhythm.

"The more shots you get, the more chances you get to get on fire and keep it going," Phipps said.

At this point, the Terps have two goalies who are playing well. Cottle said both of his net-minders continue to impress in practice. He may have a tough decision about who to start in Friday's ACC tournament first-round game against Virginia, a team the Terps defeated at Byrd Stadium on March 29 behind an impressive performance from Carter.

If form holds, it will be Carter starting. But the Terps have to be encouraged by Phipps' performance on Saturday.

He is.

"It's been a while since I played how well I'm capable of playing," Phipps said. "It's pretty good to do it going into the most meaningful part of the year."

(C) 2008 The Diamondback via UWIRE